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I 6 Chapter 1 What is interaction design?

Cell phones have a more complex mode of interaction. More functionality is provided,
requiring the user to spend time learning how to use them. For example, users can save
phone numbers in an address book and then assign these to "hotkeys," allowing them
to be called simply through pressing one or two keys.
(c) Phone boxes are intended to be used in public places, say on the street or in a bus sta-
tion, and so have been designed to give the user a degree of privacy and noise protec-
tion through the use of hoods and booths.
Cell phones have have been designed to be used any place and any time. However, lit-
tle consideration has been given to how such flexibility affects others who may be in
the same public place (e.g., sitting on trains and buses).

I
1.3 What is interaction design?
I By interaction design, we mean

designing interactive products to support people in their everyday and working lives.
I
In particular, it is about creating user experiences that enhance and extend the way
people work, communicate and interact. Winograd (1997) describes it as "the de-
sign of spaces for human communication and interaction." In this sense, it is about
finding ways of supporting people. This contrasts with software engineering, which
focuses primarily on the production of software solutions for given applications. A
simple analogy to another profession, concerned with creating buildings, may clar-
ify this distinction. In his account of interaction design, Terry Winograd asks how
architects and civil engineers differ when faced with the problem of building a
house. Architects are concerned with the people and their interactions with each
other and within the house being built. For example, is there the right mix of family
and private spaces? Are the spaces for cooking and eating in close proximity? Will
people live in the space being designed in the way it was intended to be used? In
contrast, engineers are interested in issues to do with realizing the project. These
include practical concerns like cost, durability, structural aspects, environmental
aspects, fire regulations, and construction methods. Just as there is a difference
between designing and building a house, so too, is there a distinction between in-
teraction design and software engineering. In a nutshell, interaction design is re-
lated to software engineering in the same way as architecture is related to civil
engineering.

1.3.1 The makeup of interaction design

It has always been acknowledged that for interaction design to succeed many disci-
plines need to be involved. The importance of understanding how users act and
react to events and how they communicate and interact together has led people
from a variety of disciplines, such as psychologists and sociologists, to become in-
volved. Likewise, the growing importance of understanding how to design different
kinds of interactive media in effective and aesthetically pleasing ways has led to a